Jesus - World Scripture

Sun Myung Moon regards Jesus of Nazareth as the greatest of all the religious founders. He has made an exhaustive study of his life and work; his speeches about Jesus take up many volumes.

He does not view Jesus from the conventional Christian perspective as the Savior who fulfilled everything through his atoning death on the cross. No, Father Moon’s Jesus knew he had a much greater mission—to live and establish God’s Kingdom on earth during his lifetime.

The crucifixion cut short his mission, frustrated his aspirations, and prolonged the centuries of suffering and wars while the Kingdom tarried until the days of the Second Coming.

It is through this lens that he views scripture passages about Jesus’ person, preparations for his coming, his relations with his family, his ministry, the cross, and the resurrection.

Father Moon knows Jesus as the “man of sorrows.” He asserts that even in his youth, during the 30 years before beginning his public life, Jesus was misunderstood and ridiculed by his family and his village.

The fact that Jesus never married, when it was customary for all Jewish men in their twenties to do so, is taken not as a mark of special holiness but rather as the painful lot of a man of questionable birth and strange behavior who was not regarded as marriageable.

When it came time for Jesus to begin his ministry, all Heaven’s attempts to prepare the Jewish people to welcome him ended in failure, notably the ministry of John the Baptist.

Consequently, Jesus was never able to preach what he set out to preach: the gospel of the Kingdom of God in plain language.

Instead, he had to speak in obscure parables. He was never able to do what he set out to do: lead a spiritual and political movement to win Israel’s independence from Rome and establish God’s Kingdom throughout the world.

Jesus’ sorrow only increased as the forces opposing his ministry grew stronger and he was compelled to take an alternative course, the way of the cross. His grief was exacerbated by the weakness of his disciples, who fled and scattered leaving him alone at the end.

In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed desperately, knowing the sorrow of God and the sufferings of generations to come that would ensue if he took that path and died without completing his original mission.

But by that time the people’s rejection was unalterable; the die was cast, and he obediently accepted the cross as God’s will. Yet, Jesus never changed his heartfelt love for the people, even for those who were killing him.

When he forgave his enemies on the cross, it was an earth-shaking moment that changed history forever.

Jesus Came to Save Sinful Humankind

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1.15

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”… And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. Matthew 4.17, 23

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14.6

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11.28-30

And as he sat at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9.10-13

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. John 10.11-16

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus spent his whole life fulfilling his responsibility and mission. What he completed on earth during his 33 years of life secured an eternal and inviolable accomplishment.

His Gospel of faith and the example of his life will remain for eternity. Jesus took responsibility, not only for his own generation but also for all of the history. Jesus single-handedly took responsibility to complete the providential will that God had been striving to fulfill for 4,000 years. (1:37, May 16, 1956)

Jesus came to answer the universal questions, resolve humanity’s sins, and solve the problem of death. Jesus was the only person who could provide solutions to these problems.

Moreover, more than anyone else, Jesus lived a truthful life for the sake of God.

Disregarding his personal life, he sought to elucidate the fundamental questions of the universe.

Disregarding his own glory, he labored and sacrificed endlessly to fulfill the will of God. By virtue of his consistent heart and life, he was elevated before Heaven as the foremost torch-bearer, representing all the history. That is why he could confidently cry out, “Believe in me.” (3:14, September 8, 1957)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

What a bold statement! Was his way a treacherous mountain trail? No, it was a firm and solid road. Was his truth dim and obscure?

No, he clearly knew everything that he spoke. He intended that his truth should be welcomed by all peoples, and it should become the measure of all truth. Was his life one of dying or thriving? He lowered himself to serve others, yet as he said, those who humble themselves will be lifted up. (106:13, November 4, 1979)

People in a state of imperfection cannot establish the ideal world. People ignorant of the truth cannot lay its foundations. Therefore, God promised to send to Israel the Messiah—the one perfected person with complete knowledge.

Jesus would be the beginning of the God-centered sovereignty and nation; this would be possible once the Israelites united absolutely with him.

That is, by attending38 the Messiah, immature people were to proceed on the path to individual perfection and establish families, communities and a nation united with Jesus. They had to obey Jesus’ will in its entirety.

However, the Israelites who met the Messiah did not understand that God had sent him. Neither did they know that God’s work for Jesus was to save not only his own people but also the world. (54:41, March 10, 1972)

Jesus—the Son of God and Incarnation of the Word

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3.16

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father?” Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. John 14.8-11, 19-20

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him… And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. 1 John 4.9, 14-16

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
John 1.1-15

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
After being born on this earth, Jesus claimed, “I am the only-begotten Son of God!” He made the decisive proclamation, “No one comes to the Father but by me,” meaning that in history until his coming, no one could fully receive God’s love.

Thus, Jesus expounded the ultimate standard, the level that God longs to see us attain. Jesus was the only person who claimed this relationship with God. We read his words in John 14, “Believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me.” Thus, he declared that he was one with God. (53:231-32, February 28, 1972)

The Bible calls Jesus the “only-begotten Son.”

What does this mean? God’s love is absolute love. Jesus was the first person in history who could receive the total love of God and represent that love to humankind.

Because God gave Jesus the title “only-begotten Son,” he could become our Savior.

Jesus taught that he is the true Son of God from the standpoint of love. Therefore, only by going through Jesus can we make a relationship of love [with God]. (146:168, June 15, 1986)

Among Jesus’ words, he said, “God is my Father.” This is the correct teaching. It is the word that can bring complete success to human life. It is a word without precedent, which can elevate human affections to the level of heavenly heart and heavenly law.

Next, Jesus said, “I am the bridegroom, and you are the brides.”

He was speaking about this in a religious sense, was he not? In the human world, what can be more intimate than the relationship between husband and wife?

What can be closer than the relationship between parent and child?

Jesus also said that he was our brother. What relationship could be closer? With these teachings Jesus was describing God’s family. He encapsulated the truth by describing relationships containing the divine heart. (39:42-43, January 9, 1971)

Jesus came as the incarnation of the Word. Jesus was the man whom God had been hoping to see over the long course of restoration history, the desire of God from the time of creation. (3:318-19, February 2, 1958)

God’s original thought in creating the universe centered on human beings was to rejoice with all His creatures. This was God’s desire, but it was not realized on this earth due to the Fall of Adam and Eve, our progenitors.

God created all existence in six days through the Word [logos]. He bestowed upon all created beings a purpose: to become God’s object partners by manifesting God’s Word. What then, would all created beings hope for, having been created as substantial object partners through the Word?

This was for a mediator, one central being that would enable them to move in step with God. If human beings had become that center, the chaotic history that has unfolded on this earth would not have happened.

God also hoped to see the appearance of the one being who could represent Him and act on His behalf. This has been the center of God’s hope—not only during the course of the providence of restoration since the Human Fall, but even since the beginning of creation.

The being God and creation hoped for would come as the incarnation of the Word… Due to the Fall of Adam and Eve, God’s Word returned to Him without being manifested on the earth; meanwhile, separated from the Word, human beings still live on this earth.

Therefore, God would once again bestow His Word upon humanity. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Christology 4.1.1)

Because Jesus was born on the foundation of a purified lineage, having nothing to do with Satan, he is indeed the Son of God. He could finally claim: “I am the only-begotten Son of God.” No one like Jesus had ever appeared before in human history…

There have been other religious founders and saviors in history, but none of them was born relating to God as a son to his Parent because they did not have a purified lineage, unstained by Satan’s polluted blood.

Neither Buddha nor Confucius nor Mohammed came from such a background.

Therefore, Jesus’ birth on earth was truly the hope of all humankind. It is through the glory of his person that we can receive new life and resurrection. (53:205-206, February 21, 1972)

Jesus—the True Man and the Sinless ‘Second Adam’

The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15.45

Lo! The likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. Qur’an 3.59

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2.5

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him, who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Hebrews 5.7-9

And when God said, “O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to mankind, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah?’ ” He replied, “Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. Thou wouldst have known it if I said it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. Truly Thou alone art the Knower of Things Hidden. I spoke to them only that which Thou didst command me, saying, ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ I was a witness to them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou didst take me Thou wert the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things.” Qur’an 5.116-17

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Had Adam and Eve realized the ideal of creation and become the True Parents of humanity, they would have borne good children without original sin and formed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

However, Adam and Eve fell and became evil parents, multiplying evil children who created this hell on earth. Hence, as Jesus told Nicodemus, fallen people cannot see the Kingdom of God unless they are firstborn anew, as children without original sin.

We cannot be born without parents. Who, then, are the good parents through whom we can be born again, cleansed of original sin and able to enter the Kingdom of God? Parents who have original sin cannot give birth to good children who do not have original sin. Certainly, it is impossible to find sinless parents among fallen humankind.

These parents must descend from Heaven. Jesus was the Parent who came from Heaven. He came as the True Father in order to give rebirth to fallen people, transforming them into good children, thoroughly cleansed of original sin and fit to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth…

Jesus came as the True Father whom Adam had failed to become. For this reason, the Bible speaks of him as the “last Adam” and the “Everlasting Father.” (1 Cor. 15.45, Isa. 9.6) (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Christology 4.1.1)

Jesus said that the value of a human life cannot be exchanged for the entire universe… Yet, many Christians say that God is very high while we human beings are sinners. They say that Jesus is God while humans are creatures with no value. If that were true, how could we possibly be connected to God?

How could we realize our full potential to become God-like people?

That teaching creates an unbridgeable gap between God and human beings. To connect us to God, Jesus should stand on the side of human beings.

If he stood on the side of God, we would have no hope.

We read from the Bible, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2.5)

The passage is correct. Because Jesus is a man, he provides the way for us sinners to approach God. If Jesus were God and not man, we would have no way to approach Him.

This is a fundamental issue; it requires the correct and logical understanding. Jesus is a sinless person while we are sinful people—that is the difference between him and us.

Because Jesus is sinless, he can relate with God’s love, life and ideal; and as the mediator, he can connect us to God’s love, life and ideal. (69:80-81, October 20, 1973)

Let me ask you a question: Was Jesus a man or a woman? Of course, he was a man.

When Jesus looked at a woman, do you think he saw her as a woman, or as a man? Of course, he saw her as a woman. Then, do you think he sometimes felt an attraction?

There is always the force of electricity pulling plus and minus toward each other—it is the law of nature. While Jesus was standing there, an attractive woman would approach him. His body must have shaken like this [demonstarting].

His hand must have shaken, but his feet were firmly planted. He felt frustrated, but he did not move his feet. He knew that if he moved he might fall, so he remained still and unwavering.

Ordinary people respond to temptation, but Jesus never budged, even if his hand might have touched her. No matter how great we may be, we cannot consider ourselves to be greater than Jesus.

Jesus experienced the vulnerability of his human nature, but each time he drew the line and said, “No, I cannot do it.” “No, it is not permitted.” “I had better cut it off.” By continually overcoming temptation, he reached the point where he could say, “Now I am in oneness.” (128:78-79, June 5, 1983)

Preparation for Christ’s Advent and the Responsibility of John the Baptist

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, Who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5.2

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”— John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.40 Mark 1.2-6

John said, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” John 1.26-34

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out?… To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11.2-15

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
John 1.19-21

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
If the Messiah were sent to this fallen world without any preparations or foundation, the enemy Satan would definitely capture him and kill him. Therefore, to prepare for his coming, God worked throughout history to establish religions.

God erected the major religions and separated good from evil to find the people on His side. God’s plan was to raise an individual, family, tribe, people and nation that could be victorious over Satan.

It would be the prepared foundation, ready to unite totally with the Messiah when he came. That foundation was the nation called Israel, which means victory. (74:59-60, November 12, 1974)

Through many prophets, God sent messages promising that He would send the Messiah to Israel. Thus God built a foundation of messianic expectation in the Jewish people. At the proper time, God fulfilled His promise by sending His Son, the Messiah. He was Jesus. (73:218, September 18, 1974)

When Jesus was born, God proclaimed his advent. He sent the three wise men from the East as well as Simon, Anna, John the Baptist and others to testify widely.

Concerning John the Baptist in particular, many people knew that an angel had appeared and testified to his conception. (Luke 1.13) The miracles surrounding his birth stirred all of Judea in expectation. (Luke 1.63-66)

Furthermore, John’s ascetic life in the wilderness was so impressive that many people questioned in their hearts whether perhaps he was the Christ. (Luke 3.15)

God’s purpose behind sending such a great personality as John the Baptist to bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah was to encourage the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Messiah 1.3)

If the Jewish believers who respected John the Baptist as a prophet had united with Jesus, what would have happened? Jesus’ disciples would have been the leading citizens of Israel, not poor fishermen.

With that level of support, who would have dared arrested and killed Jesus? Was it originally God’s will that Jesus’ chief followers should be tax collectors and prostitutes? (74:153, November 28, 1974)

When the mind of John the Baptist was focused on God, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah and testified to him. Later, when the inspiration left him and he returned to a mundane state, his ignorance returned and exacerbated his faithlessness.

Unable to acknowledge that he was the return of Elijah, John began to regard Jesus in the same disbelieving way as other Jews viewed him, particularly after he was imprisoned.

Jesus’ every word and deed seemed to him only strange and perplexing. At one point, John tried to resolve his doubts by sending his disciples to Jesus and asking, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11.3)…

John the Baptist had been chosen while still inside the womb for the mission of attending Jesus. He led an arduous, ascetic life in the wilderness, building his ministry in order to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

When Jesus began his public ministry, God revealed the identity of Jesus to John before anyone else and inspired John to bear witness to him as the Son of God.

Yet John did not properly receive the grace that Heaven had bestowed on him.

Therefore, when confronted with John’s doubting question, Jesus did not answer explicitly that he was the Messiah; he instead answered in this circuitous way. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Messiah 2.3)

Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” (Matt. 11.11)

What did he mean by this?

The mission of prophets through the ages was mainly to testify to the Messiah. Prophets in the past testified from a distance of time, but John the Baptist was the prophet contemporary with the Messiah, the prophet who could bear witness, in person, to the living Christ.

Therefore, he was the greatest among prophets. However, John failed to love and serve the Messiah. Even the least of the prophets then living in the spirit world knew that Jesus was the Son of God and served him. That is why John, who was given the greatest mission and failed, became less than the least.

From his birth, John should have lived and died in the service of Christ, but instead he died over involvement in a trivial matter, the affair of Herodias. Was that the path God intended for John the Baptist?

Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has advanced forcefully, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matt. 11:12)

In other words, Jesus said that during days of John the Baptist just prior to the appearance of Jesus, there was the possibility that the Kingdom of Heaven could be taken and claimed by forceful men.

If John the Baptist had believed in Jesus, he certainly would have become Jesus’ chief disciple. Jesus’ 12 disciples and 70 disciples would have been the leaders of John the Baptist’s group.

As Jews of good reputation, they could have won over the scribes and priests to Jesus’ side. One day, John’s followers came to him and asked, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” (John 3.26)

They carried concern in their question: Look at all the people going to Jesus. What about you? John replied, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” (John 3.30) this passage is Usually interpreted as evidence of John’s humility.

But what it really means is that John and Jesus were not united in heart and action.

If Jesus and John had been united, their destiny would be to rise or fall together.

Know, then, that the reason Jesus died on the cross was due to the failure of John the Baptist. (69:139, October 23, 1973)

Worldwide Preparation for Christ’s Advent

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea…” They went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2.1-11

The ancient children of the East were possessed of a wisdom which they inherited from Abraham, who transmitted it to the sons of his concubines, as it is written, “Unto the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away… eastward, unto the country of the children of the East.” (Gen. 25.6). In the course of time they followed the track of that wisdom into many directions. Zohar 1.100b (Judaism)

I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8.11

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Buddhism in India, Confucianism in China and Zoroastrianism in Persia were religions with leading influence in the Orient. Spiritualists of these religions could naturally recognize who Jesus was. (227:81, February 10, 1992)

In preparation for the First Coming of Christ, God sent the prophet Malachi to the chosen people 430 years beforehand to arouse in them a strong messianic expectation.

At the same time, among the world’s peoples, God founded religions suited to their regions and cultures by which they could make the necessary internal preparations to receive the Messiah.

In India, God established Buddhism through Gautama Buddha (565-485 B.C.) as a new development out of Hinduism. In Greece, God inspired Socrates (470-399 B.C.) and opened the brilliant age of classical Greek civilization.

In the Far East, God raised up Confucius (552-479 B.C.), whose teachings of Confucianism established the standard of human ethics. Jesus was to come upon this worldwide foundation of preparation, and through his teachings, he was to bring together Judaism, Hellenism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

He was to unify all religions and civilizations into one worldwide civilization founded upon the Christian Gospel. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Parallels 6) Jesus was born of Asian blood, but since he lost his body in Asia, his legacy moved in the opposite direction—to Western civilization centered on Rome—in a course of restoration through indemnity.

Originally, had Jesus not died on the cross, He would have led Israel to create a unified religious sphere with Buddhism in India and Confucianism in the Far East, centered on his teachings.

The religious realm was to be unified first. The highest leaders in the religious sphere communicate with the spirit world and know the direction of Heaven.

For this reason, had Jesus won for Israel a degree of independence from Rome and unified the divided peoples in the lands of the Middle East (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), he would certainly have been able to embrace Asia. (229:174-75, April 12, 1992)

Misunderstood by His Family

He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” Mark 6.1-4

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.

His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.

After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”… And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. Luke 2.41-51

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2.1-4

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3.31-35

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Today, Christians easily believe that the Virgin Mary conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, but in those days, who believed it?

An illegitimate child, Jesus was the target of derision. His brothers cursed him, the villagers pointed fingers at him, and even children mocked him and harassed him.

Jesus lived to be 33, yet he was not married. Why? Everyone gets married, but what family would willingly give their daughter to be the bride of such a pariah, to face the miserable circumstances of life with him? (243:242-43, January 17, 1993)

Do you think that the people in the village did not suppose that Jesus was an illegitimate child? They did, and this caused great tension between Joseph and Mary. Joseph asked Mary many times, “Who is the boy’s father?” Whenever he asked her, Mary could not answer.

When she told him that she conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit, Joseph must have disbelieved her, saying, “I am the one who saved your life. What kind of game are you trying to play with me?” Thus, they would fight and quarrel all the time because of Joseph’s suspicions. Their fighting must have continued even after Mary gave birth to other children.

At the age of 12, Jesus had a chance to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. His parents did not know that they had left him behind until three days into their journey home. When they returned and found him in the Temple with the priests, Mary asked, “Why are you here?” Jesus replied, “Where else would I be but in my Father’s house?” He was complaining about his parents, who had left him behind for three days, returning home without him. (235:237-38, September 20, 1992)

Even when Jesus was helping Joseph with his carpentry work, he did not lead a comfortable life. His life was full of hardships, and his heart endured infinite sorrow. (7:334, October 18, 1959)

Mary did not help Jesus with the wedding he desired. She even opposed it. Jesus’ words to Mary during the wedding at Cana, “O woman, what have you to do with me?” reveal his reproachful heart toward his mother, who helped in the weddings of others but neglected to help her own son receive a bride.

Yet for Jesus to marry was the most important requirement of the providence. With this perspective, we can understand why Jesus asked, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” (Matt. 12:48) (277:210, April 16, 1996)

In those days it was customary for males to marry at around 18 to 20 years of age. Why did Jesus not marry? Why was he still single even at the age of 33?

In fact, when Jesus was 17 years old he honestly told Mary the providential reason why he must marry: Adam fell around age 16, to restore the Human Fall he had to marry, and a certain procedure would be required.

Three times he spoke of this to his mother: at age 17, then again at age 27 and again at age 30. But his mother would not listen to him. (266:193, December 25, 1994)

The reason why Jesus had to go the way of the cross was because the leaders of Israel betrayed him, and the Jews went against him.

The primary reason was that Joseph’s family could not prepare the day for Jesus to be blessed in a holy marriage. Had that one day come, Jesus would not have died on the cross. (30:173-74, March 22, 1970)

The Three Temptations in the Wilderness

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Matthew 4.1-11

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus defeated Satan by overcoming the three temptations in the wilderness, the last of them on a mountaintop.

Yet we should realize that when Jesus journeyed to the wilderness after being rejected by John the Baptist and his followers—a situation that made likely his rejection by the Jewish people as well—he carried a heart of sorrow the like of which no one on earth had ever experienced. Jesus appeared as the only Son of God, who came to resolve the 4,000-year history of God’s providence.

He came as the seal of victory that God could boast about before that generation and countless generations to come. Yet it was with a sad heart that Jesus walked into the wilderness alone, without a friend, leaving his family, the chosen John the Baptist, the religious authorities, and his people behind.

Jesus set out, filled with determination and sense of mission to pay the debts of history. What did he think about during his 40 days of fasting?

He felt an acute sense of responsibility to restore through indemnity, by himself, the rueful course of his forbearers… No one ever had more determination and resolution to fulfill God’s will than Jesus Christ.

He went to the wilderness with a burning heart to capture and subjugate Satan. He stood alone on that mountain with a firmer determination than any ancestor in history. (5:194-96, January 25, 1959)

Satan tempted Jesus three times. First, while he was fasting for forty days, Satan tempted him with food. He appeared before Jesus and asked him to change a stone into bread.

This would be good news to a starving person, but Jesus refused. He clearly stated, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This means that Jesus refused to yield any conditions to Satan pertaining to the necessities of life. Throughout history until that time, people had been fighting over material wealth.

However, Jesus’ victory over Satan’s first test made it possible to bring an end to this interminable struggle for material goods.

What trial did Jesus have to face next? Satan led him to the top of the Holy Temple. There he tested him, saying, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”

Jesus came with the religious teaching that could educate Judaism and the people of Israel. When Satan said, “throw yourself down,” he meant for Jesus to bow down before the conventional Jewish doctrines and traditions and abandon his role to educate and lead them. But Jesus did not fall for Satan’s test.

Instead he won the victory. What was the third test? “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’”

Here Jesus rejected Satan’s demand in order to fulfill the Will of God. Far from needing Satan’s help, Jesus came bearing the universal teaching by which he would build God’s nation, the Kingdom of God. (3:121, October 13, 1957)

Jesus Taught in Parables

Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable… Matthew 13.31-34

The disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Matthew 13.10-13

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
For what purpose did Jesus come to this earth and proclaim the Gospel? Why did he shed tears for 30 years and walk a path of tribulations? First, he wanted human beings to restore their relationship with God; and next, he wanted to lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus introduced the Kingdom of Heaven with the Word—the truth. Through Jesus, God bestowed the Word upon human beings, that they might establish an eternal, unchanging relationship with Him and to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Through Jesus, God desired to manifest His truth.

Hence, Jesus began to spread the word of truth to bring human beings back to God… However, instead of receiving the truth, the people of Israel did not believe in Jesus… For this reason, he could not fully communicate the truth to humanity. He was left to convey the truth only in symbols and parables, while its fullness remained hidden.

Since then, numerous people throughout history have utilized all their knowledge and wisdom trying to open the gate to the hidden truth. They have been searching inwardly by the Spirit and externally by the truth.

When the Last Days arrive, finally spirit and truth will meet. The truth that has been dwelling in Jesus’ heart will be completely revealed, and the numerous people who had been searching for it will become Jesus’ true followers.

In that day, as people learn the truth both inwardly and outwardly, they will come to know Jesus truly. (2:126-27, March 17, 1957)

Jesus Gathered Disciples and Trained Them for the Kingdom

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4.18-22

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10.37-39

A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for all is now ready.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.”

And another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.” And another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” So the servant came and reported this to his master.

Then the householder in anger said to his servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.” And the servant said, “Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.”

And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” Luke 14.16-24

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15.4-11

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.

When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10.16-20

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Rejected by the prepared people, Jesus appeared as a laborer and became a friend of fishermen. He shared with them his life, heart and desires. He fought for them, determined to satisfy their hearts’ desires. As a result, Peter and the other fishermen could follow him.

After selecting these uneducated disciples, what did Jesus do for three years? He served them, just as God had toiled for 4,000 years as a servant to raise the Israelites. Jesus had great hopes for his twelve chosen disciples.

He never forgot that God had sent him to influence Judaism by guiding its priests and officials. His teaching was grand, his hopes were high, and his passion was great. After enduring the agony of rejection by the chief priests and scribes… Jesus sacrificed and served to raise up his disciples to take their place.

Through the three years of his ministry he searched for them, forgetting food and drink. If he acquired new clothes, he gave them to his disciples and was content with his rags. If he found a comfortable place to sleep, he let his disciples sleep there and sat in an uncomfortable place. (5:225, February 1, 1959)

People believe in religion to find salvation, and the purpose of salvation is to reach perfection. To this end, religious people know that they should love God and the founder of their religion more than anyone in the fallen world.

We should clearly know that the path of religion requires such a pledge. All religious believers should walk this path—to go beyond the love of the world—and thereby win over Satan’s world.

We can connect with God’s love only when we have transcended the love of the fallen world. This is the very reason Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother—or wife or husband—more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Why should we love Jesus more than our own family members? By so loving Christ we become people with greater love than people in the fallen world, and through our bond of love with Christ we are entitled to enter heaven. Meeting this condition is a requirement of God’s Principle; therefore Jesus had to say these words. (93:326, June 17, 1977)

Hunger and suffering creates a bond of heart between us. Just socializing together while we wear good clothes and lead a comfortable life does not link us together.

Rather, you and I should experience the misery of persecution and oppression, working day and night in difficult circumstances as we shoulder the enormous burden of fulfilling our responsibility.

There is no way to build a bond of heart except through tears… You talk about a relationship of heart with Jesus or with True Parents, but where can you find it except through suffering? There is no other way. (94:233, October 1, 1977)

When people receive revelations about Christ at the Second Advent or hear his words, they will respond in ways similar to the way the Jews in Jesus’ day responded. God did not reveal the news of the birth of Jesus to the priests and scribes, but to gentile astrologers and pure-hearted shepherds.

This is like the case of a father who, due to the ignorance of his own children, has to confide in his step-child. Likewise, God may well reveal the news of the return of Christ first to lay people, to marginal spiritual groups and churches which the mainstream treats with disdain, or to conscientious non-believers.

Only later may the news reach the mainstream Christian clergy who are unthinkingly keeping to their conventional ways of faith. In Jesus’ day, those who sincerely received the Gospel were not the Jewish leaders, but simple common folk and Gentiles.

Likewise, at Christ’s return, simple Christians and non-Christians will accept the Lord’s words before the Christian leadership, which regards itself as God’s elect.

This is the meaning of Jesus’ parable of the marriage feast. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Second Advent 4)

Jesus Performed Miracles, but They Were Not Conducive to Faith

The apostles returned to Jesus… and he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he landed, he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And the disciples said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.41 Mark 6.30-44

When the disciples said, “O Jesus son of Mary! Is your Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven?”42 He said, “Observe your duty to God, if you are true believers.”

They said, “We wish to eat of it, that we may satisfy our hearts and know that you have spoken truth to us, and that we may be witnesses thereof.” Jesus son of Mary, said, “O God, our Lord!

Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of sustainers.” Qur’an 5.112-114

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”… Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day…” Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?… The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.43 John 6.25-67

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus was willing to do anything for the sake of the Father’s Will… Touring with his disciples, when he saw that the people were hungry, he performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. He gave everything he could. (4:83, March 9, 1958)

Jesus did not delight in performing miracles. If you think he performed miracles in comfort and joy, you are greatly mistaken. When he felt compelled by a painful situation to show mercy upon the people, he raised his hands and cried out, “Father!”

This is when the miracles took place. They took place when Jesus cried out in excruciating sadness, as if his bones and flesh were melting. Do not think that Jesus performed miracles because he liked them or was reckless.

On the hill of Bethsaida, 5,000 people waved their arms and shouted out, “Jesus, you are our Savior! You are the chosen leader of Israel!” They sought him out because they expected to obtain some benefit from him.

However, after some time passed, they began to see that Jesus’ standard of heart was different from theirs. They could not relate to his internal situation and ideals, which came from a different, higher realm. That was when they turned their backs on Jesus and abandoned him. Yet all the while, Jesus was giving them his utmost love. (3:291, February 1, 1959)

The multitudes that followed Jesus believed he was the Messiah and their Savior when he showed them the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Yet when Jesus was about to be killed, everyone abandoned him and scattered.

If the people who followed Jesus had understood his internal heart toward Heaven, if they had understood that he possessed a deeply penetrating heart toward God, and that he came to take responsibility for the whole of God’s historical providence, they would have understood his predicament and followed him to the end. (3:291, January 19, 1958)

Jesus Wept Out of Love for the People and Agonized Over Their Unbelief, Even as His Closest Disciples Proved Faithless

Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” John 11.32-36

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23.23-28

And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
Mark 14.32-41

And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway. And the maid saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while again the bystanders said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. Mark 14.66-72

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Does God live only for Himself and His glory, or is God totally selfless, living for the well-being of the entire creation? Which is true love? In fact, the true God comes to us fallen people, shedding tears.

People weep either when they are sad or happy. What about God? Does He shed tears of grief looking at human misery, or tears of laughter as He saves people?

Think about it. If you ever lost a loved one and then found him again years later, what would you do? You would weep, first with grief and then with joy. Therefore, God wants to meet His beloved ones on the path of tears. Would you like to experience God’s tears?

Have you ever cried, so shaking with sobs that water runs from your nose and mouth, your entire body drenched in sweat? Until you experience what grief is, you cannot taste true love. (102:163-64, December 17, 1978)

In the world dominated by Satan, God’s providence requires battles. God has to set up fights. Jesus certainly made some people angry when he criticized the Jews living in peace and comfort, calling them “hypocrites” and a “brood of vipers” and casting curses upon them.

If Jesus had praised the rabbis, scribes and priests, telling them that they were doing a wonderful job for God, would he have been killed?

Confucius and Muhammad—all the saints without exception—declared to the world something it did not want to hear. By doing that, they created the momentum for change. (95:276–77, December 11, 1977)

The people who were the closest to Jesus caused him the most sorrow. His sorrow was not so much from rejection by the people of Israel whom God had prepared, or from rejection by the Jewish authorities.

His greatest sorrow came when his beloved disciples—some who had followed him for as long as three years—lost faith when he needed them to believe, did not testify when he needed them to testify, did not fight when he needed them to fight, and ran from death when he needed them to face death. (3:142, October 18, 1957)

Who followed Jesus to the end without forsaking him?

The twelve disciples? No, even the three chief disciples among the Twelve did not keep faith and follow Jesus to the end. Although Jesus tried to introduce the love of God to humankind and tried to put that love into practice, he died without building a substantial relationship of love with a single human being.

Although Jesus conveyed words of heavenly love, and although his heart burned with love, he died without having found one person whom he could tightly embrace and exchange the affectionate words, “My son!” “My father!” sharing the love that runs between a parent and child.

Can you understand the heart and situation of Jesus as he cried in anguish through the sleepless night in the Garden of Gethsemane, even as the disciples were dozing off?

Many people today appreciate Jesus’ words of love, but 2,000 years ago, Jesus did not have anyone to whom he could give his love. (3:58, September 22, 1957)

Jesus lived barely thirty years, a life filled with sorrow. Jesus spent three years of public life, offering everything he had; yet who knew his heart, and who knew his situation?

Not even one person. Even the disciples, who attended him as their teacher, who shared his joys and sorrows, who were sad when he was sad and lonely when he was lonely—they did not know, either.

The disciples, who should have clung to Heaven and appealed with earnest hearts, concerned that their teacher might go the path of death, instead were confused, asking, ”Who is Jesus?” (7:45, July 12, 1959)

On this earth, who knew the heart of Jesus?

Not a single person recognized Jesus, a man filled with apprehension, who experienced and felt keenly Heaven’s sorrow, who felt Heaven’s lament over humanity.

Jesus did not have even one disciple who exclaimed, “My Lord!” intimately feeling God’s heart… us to sympathize with the heart of Jesus, who had to leave behind disciples ignorant of his great sorrow, with the heart of Jesus, who died without seeing his life bear fruit, even though he lived his entire life for humankind. (5:137-38, January 11, 1959)

The Agony of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” Matthew 16.21-23

And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”…

There came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house… Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they spoke many other words against him, reviling him. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” And they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”… And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Calvary], there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He has saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 22.39-23.46

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Matthew 27.46

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
People say that Jesus came to die. Was his death indeed predestined by God, or was it an event brought on by circumstances? You should know that it was something that came to pass suddenly and unexpectedly. We can discern this from the New Testament’s account of the Transfiguration:

“And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure [his crucifixion] which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31)

When Jesus later informed Peter that he would suffer in Jerusalem and be crucified, Peter violently protested, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” (Matt. 16:22)

Then Jesus lashed out at him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God but of men.” (Matt. 16:23)

Conventional Christians understand this passage to mean that Jesus was supposed to die on the cross, and because Peter tried to stop him, Jesus called him “Satan.”

What Jesus actually meant was this: Peter had witnessed the trance-like scene on the Mount of Transfiguration alongside Jesus; hence he should have heard sometime during that event, the instruction to Jesus that he should go to his death.

However, Peter had dozed off and never heard it. Yet now that Jesus’ death was decided, Peter had no business telling Jesus what to do or not to do. The decision [to alter Jesus’ course] been made on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Jesus had originally come to fulfill God’s Will both spiritually and physically, but he was driven into a situation where unless he sacrificed himself, he would have to turn the nation and the people over to Satan.

In that situation, by going the way of the cross, God strove to lay at least a spiritual foundation. In other words, God had determined to lead him on a secondary dispensation, one that would give birth to Christianity.
(73:218, September 18, 1974)

Jesus walked a wretched path, the path of the cross. Evil men whipped and beat him. They ripped his clothing, drove him along the street, and forced him to the ground. In that situation, if Jesus had been like Elijah, he might have said to the people, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left.” (1 Kings 18:22)

But when Jesus left his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and went to pray, he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Luke 22:42)

This was his greatness. He understood that his body was a sacrificial offering for the nation, a sacrificial offering for humanity and a sacrificial offering for God’s providence. T

herefore, although Jesus felt his own bitter sorrow, he was more concerned for God’s sorrow. God had sent Jesus for the sake of the nation; instead he felt God’s sorrow to see him betrayed by his own people.

Jesus was the Messiah. He was the Crown Prince of Heaven and the central personage of the entire universe. If he chose, he could have given way to self-pity and lamented his miserable fate. He could have set the entire universe in lamentation with him.

Yet, he understood that his position was not to sigh in despair. Instead, he even went so far as to feel apologetic toward Heaven for having been rejected. Jesus bore the responsibility to rally the religious establishment, rally the nation, build the Kingdom of Heaven and return the world to the Father’s bosom.

Yet when he was forced to abandon that mission and walk the way of the cross, he did not feel enmity toward anyone. He did not pray, “Let this cup pass from me,” for fear of death.

Rather, he prayed this way because he knew his death would add to the grief of the nation and to God’s grief. Jesus knew that if he died on the cross, there would be an even heavier cross remaining for the future generations.

It would mean that humanity’s sorrowful history would not end. He knew that the path of Golgotha would not end with him; those who followed him would also have to go the same way. Jesus knew that an even more difficult course lay beyond the cross.

As he was made to wear a crown of thorns, and the nails were hammered into his hands and feet, and his side was stabbed with a spear, Jesus knew that these events would have an impact far beyond his own death.

When he turned to God and said, “It is finished,” he did not mean that the world’s path of the cross was finished. He meant that his heart’s tearful plea of concern over the cross had reached Heaven.

We need to know that Jesus comforted God by offering himself as a living sacrifice and taking upon himself all the mistakes committed by past prophets and patriots. More than that, as he neared death, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

God had a mind to pass judgment immediately, a judgment even more terrible than in Noah’s time. But Jesus died clinging to the nation, clinging to the religious establishment and clinging to the cross.

For this reason, God could not abandon humanity, but held on to us. Because this bond of heart existed between Jesus, the future generations of humanity, and the remaining people of Israel, God could not abandon the religious organizations that turned against him, nor the people of subsequent generations. Instead, God has clung to them. (378:314, May 21, 2002)

When Jesus fell exhausted while carrying the cross to Golgotha, none among his disciples offered to shoulder the cross in his place. Neither did anyone from among the chosen people of Israel.

Rather, it was Simon of Cyrene, a Gentile, who shouldered the cross and participated in Jesus’ tribulation. For this reason, Christianity flourished among the Gentiles, not the Jews…

How must Jesus have felt when he looked at Simon of Cyrene?

His disciples, with whom he had shared all his joys and sorrows, had all disappeared, leaving this Gentile to suffer on his behalf.

Jesus must have felt deeply embarrassed and sorrowful. If any man among the twelve disciples had stood up to shoulder the cross in his place, then by looking at him, Jesus could have forgotten the hardships of death.

He would have overcome his own agony by feeling compassion for his disciple. When this did not happen, Jesus felt even greater sorrow. (2:275, June 16, 1957)

Although the Roman soldiers nailed him to a cross and pierced him with a spear, Jesus asked God’s forgiveness for them. He endured his pain with the attitude, “I am dying on their behalf. I am willing to be sacrificed on their behalf.” From that moment, a new realm opened; a new world was born that had never before existed in history.

Before Jesus’ time the rule was to take revenge on your enemy, based on the law, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” No one before Jesus had ever taught that we should love our enemies.

Jesus demonstrated something totally new to the world when he loved his enemies on the cross. This was something amazingly great. From that single event sprouted a new era, a new world of God’s desire. (130:232-33, January 29, 1984)

Can you fathom the agony in God’s heart when Jesus was dying on the cross?

Here, the children of the enemy were killing His only-begotten Son, and yet God could not treat them as enemies. Can you imagine how difficult it was for God to swallow His pain and maintain a loving heart towards them?

Jesus understood God’s painful situation; he knew that God had to maintain unconditional love even for the enemy Satan; therefore he loved the enemy soldiers who were killing him and prayed that God would forgive their sin. Because Jesus passed this test, Satan could be separated.

Because Jesus kept God’s tradition of unconditional love even for Satan, Satan had no grounds to accuse either Jesus or God. This was the condition to make a division between good and evil, to lift up Christianity beyond Satan’s grasp.

God’s providence can progress only on the condition of loving Satan and the individuals and families under Satan’s dominion. Even in the place of death, we should love and pray for them, as God does.

Otherwise, there can be no restoration. For this reason, Christian martyrs throughout the world have followed Jesus’ example and prayed for their persecutors, “Heavenly Father, please save them.”

This goes back to the principle that Satan was originally an archangel, who was to receive love from God, Adam, and Eve.

Although he fell to become Satan, we should not change our love for him. By following this principle, we can be fully restored and be qualified to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (244:154-55, February 1, 1993)

Why did Jesus appeal to Heaven, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27.46)

The first human beings abandoned God, and Jesus had the mission to restore their betrayal through indemnity. That is why God forsook him. Nevertheless, although abandoned, Jesus kept a grateful heart. He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Matt. 26.39)

Because Jesus wanted to become one with God and overcome death and whatever hardships confronted him, no enemy could dominate him. Because Jesus did not change even in death, even when God and humankind turned their backs on him, he opened the door to resurrection.

Likewise, even if God were to turn away from you, you must be determined to cling to the Father and attend Him to the end. That is the only way you enter the blessed realm of resurrection that Jesus Christ opened for us. (4:144-45, March 30, 1958)

Jesus Bore Our Sins on the Cross

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53.3-6

Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9.22-26

Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.44 Philippians 2.6-11

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus accepted his destiny, taking on his shoulders the whole responsibility for the future of Israel, giving all his strength. His disciples scattered in all directions; they abandoned Jesus, concerned only to protect their own lives.

Meanwhile, Jesus did not think about his own life at all. With utmost sincerity, taking more responsibility than any other person who lived for God in history, and eager to accomplish God’s purpose, he went the way of the cross. He walked that path with God. (35:23, September 27, 1970)

Suppose Adam and Eve had a brother, and he had not fallen. If that brother went to Satan and tried to bring Adam and Eve back, Satan would by no means let them go without a price.

Satan would want something more valuable than what he would lose by giving up those fallen siblings. Therefore, the unfallen brother would have to sacrifice himself in place of his fallen siblings; only on that condition could he liberate them. That sacrificial brother is Christ, the second Adam. (52:50, December 14, 1971)

An offering must shed blood. God does not like bloodshed, but He cannot save a person unless he sets a condition of dying and being reborn. Offering sacrificial animals and having them shed blood has served as a condition for this throughout the ages.

Thus, in the Old Testament Age, God raised the people of Israel by having them set this indemnity condition, forgiving their sins based on their offerings of animals. On that foundation, God planned to send the Messiah to open the New Testament Age and lead Israel to build the nation of God’s victory.45

However, when the people failed to believe in the Messiah, the Messiah died by offering his own self. Animal sacrifices represent the people who offer them.

Based on their accumulated offerings of animals, all Israel at the time of Jesus stood as the fruit of the Old Testament Age; this fruit was supposed to unite with Jesus. However, when it did not happen, Jesus had to offer his own self as the sacrifice. That is how Jesus came to die on the cross. (54:252-53, March 25, 1972)

The basic nature of Satan is arrogance and fury. In contrast, Jesus came before the people of the world in meekness and humility. Jesus did not show meekness and humility because he was incapable and unworthy.

He deserved to be higher and enjoy more glory than anyone else, but Jesus forsook all that and lowered himself. Satan confronted Jesus and tried to draw him into a fight, but Jesus knew that if he remained meek and humble to the end, Satan would be bound by a condition in the Principle to submit to God.

Therefore, Jesus maintained his humility, doing what Satan with his arrogant and wrathful nature cannot do. Then Satan, who also knew Heaven’s law, realized that he would have no choice but to recognize Jesus.

In other words, if you move forward in meekness and humility, then even the satanic world will naturally submit. Jesus understood this principle, and he took a position of meekness and humility of which Satan was utterly incapable. Similarly, you can pioneer the new path to God only when you place yourself in a position of meekness and humility. (3:187-88, October 27, 1957)

Do you know Jesus’ heart when he subjugated Satan? It was a heart full of compassion for God, compassion for all humanity, and compassion for all creation: “How pitiful is God, who lost His sons and daughters!

How pitiful is creation, which lost its owners! How pitiful are human beings, who lost their value, purpose, and position!” Because Jesus’ heart exploded with such pity, Satan retreated. (9:181, May 8, 1960)

The Tragedy of Jesus’ Rejection

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Matthew 23.37

And when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes.

For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19.41-44

None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2.8

“Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Matthew 21.33-41

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Today it is easy to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, because for nearly 2,000 years, Christianity has been glorifying him.

But if you had lived in the days when Jesus was being pushed around and ridiculed, would you have believed? The scribes and priests of those days longed to see the Messiah, yet they did not recognize him.

Do you really think that the Jewish people of that era were inferior to Christians today? In fact, we would probably have compounded their mistakes if we had lived in the days of Jesus of Nazareth. (69:100, October 21, 1973)

Jesus came with the lonely heart of Heaven to a people who were collapsing and dying, and taking compassion upon them, he came to them without holding back even his own life. But the people of Israel, who called themselves the chosen people, did as they pleased to the Messiah whom Heaven had sent and to John the Baptist whom Heaven had prepared…

Today let us know: It was not because the people of Israel at that time were inferior to us, that they betrayed Heaven, nor was it because their desire to live for the sake of Heaven was not as great as ours, that they forgot Heaven.

Let us understand: They had a concept about the Messiah, thinking that the Lord to come would appear as a great man, but because in reality the Messiah who appeared was haggard, pitiful and unimpressively small, they rejected him.

Let us consider our position now: Today we commonly speak ill of the historical people of Israel, and like to criticize how they handled the situation at that time, but please let us understand: between the situation now and the situation then there is no difference. May we have the mind to admit: if we had been alive at that time, we would have done the same as they. (5:284-85, February 22, 1959)

After preparing humanity for four thousand years to receive the Messiah, his death was not in God’s original plan. Satan was the one who dragged Jesus to the cross and killed him. The crucifixion was a total loss.

Everything was lost: Israel, Judaism, John the Baptist, the twelve disciples who betrayed Jesus… No one remained on the side of Jesus or Heaven. There is no Christianity at the place of Jesus’ cross.

Christianity began on the Day of Pentecost. You must know that the cross was the victory of Satan, not of God. God’s victory came with the resurrection by the power of the Spirit.46 (73:220-21, September 18, 1974)

Jesus’ Resurrection

I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die? John 11.25-26

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15.14-22

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

That very day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.

Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent.”

So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?”

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread.

As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as to Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24.1-53

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
On the cross, Jesus prayed for the people and determined to fulfill his responsibility for them even after his death; indeed, his concern for God’s Will transcended even death.

Therefore, God could resurrect Jesus, and Satan did not dare accuse the resurrected Jesus. When you attain a level of perfection where you have the same value as Jesus, Satan cannot accuse you, either. (2:141, March 17, 1957)

Satan exercised his maximum power to crucify Jesus, thereby attaining the goal he had sought throughout the four-thousand-year course of history. On the other hand, by delivering Jesus to Satan, God set up as compensation the condition to save sinful humanity.

How did God achieve this?

Because Satan had already exercised his maximum power in killing Jesus, according to the principle of restoration through indemnity, God was entitled to exercise His maximum power.

While Satan uses his power to kill, God uses His power to bring the dead to life. As compensation for Satan’s exercise of his maximum power in killing Jesus, God exercised His maximum power and resurrected Jesus.

God thus opened the way for all humanity to be engrafted with the resurrected Jesus and thereby receive salvation and rebirth. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 3.3.1.1)

After his death, Jesus was concerned about his scattered disciples. Even during the three days in the tomb, he was determined to protect them for eternity. Hence, he went to the shores of Galilee after his resurrection and searched for them.

Today from a humanistic perspective, we might wonder how Jesus could care for his disciples, when they showed no sense of responsibility and betrayed him the moment they faced difficulty.

Yet this did not stop Jesus from fulfilling his responsibility toward them by visiting them in Galilee. This is the character of Jesus, who did not let even death stop his unwavering efforts at raising his disciples to also be unwavering. We should take a lesson from Jesus’ admirable character in this regard. (1:38, May 16, 1956)

Due to the sin and blindness of the people, God permitted His Son to be a sacrifice. That was the significance of the crucifixion: God allowed Jesus to die on the cross as the ransom paid to Satan. In exchange, upon Jesus’ resurrection, God could claim the souls of humankind, though redemption of the body was not possible.

Therefore, God’s victory and our salvation were not in the cross but in the resurrection… Our salvation comes from Jesus’ victorious resurrection.

This is Christ’s victory, and Satan’s power can never affect it. But the body of Jesus Christ was given up as a sacrifice and a ransom. In giving up his body, Jesus also gave up the body of humankind.

Our salvation is limited to spiritual redemption because the redemption of the body remained unfulfilled 2,000 years ago. And our world still suffers under Satan’s power. Sin still rages within our bodies and dominates this world.

Therefore, Paul cried out in anguish, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks, be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin.” (Rom. 7.24-25)

Paul was living in the grace of the Lord. Still, he confessed that he could serve God only with his mind, and his flesh served the law of sin. His body yearned to be redeemed; he still anguished over sin. And so it is for us. By accepting Christ, we receive spiritual salvation.

But our body still serves the law of sin under Satan’s domain, until Christ returns and liberates us from the bondage of sin. The Lord of the Second Advent alone can give total salvation, in spirit and in body. (September 18, 1974)